1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure sensor, in particular a peripheral pressure sensor for a motor vehicle, having a sensor chip and a gasket sealing a sensing device of the sensor chip with respect to the surroundings, and further relates to a method for manufacturing such a pressure sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pressure sensor, in particular a peripheral pressure sensor for protecting the occupants of a motor vehicle, continuously measures a pressure, in particular an internal pressure of a vehicle door, and sends these data to a control unit for an airbag. Such sensors are used in particular to detect a side crash of a vehicle and for this purpose are integrated into the side doors of the vehicle. If the pressure rises in a characteristic manner, the control unit detects a crash, i.e., a side crash, and deploys a corresponding airbag, in particular a corresponding side airbag. Depending on the application in/on the motor vehicle, two or four peripheral pressure sensors are preferably connected electrically to the control unit of the airbag together with peripheral acceleration sensors, for example, such that the combination of two physical measured variables results in a more robust deployment decision for the particular side airbag. This results in rapid and robust sensing of side crashes.
FIG. 1 of the drawings shows a traditional peripheral pressure sensor 1 for a vehicle door of a motor vehicle, a pressure pickup in the form of a sensor chip 10 being accommodated on a circuit board 70. Sensor chip 10 has a sensing device 110, which is sealed by a gasket 20 with respect to a cover 60 and thus also with respect to a housing 50 of pressure sensor 1, so that the electronics on circuit board 70 are protected from harmful media. Cover 60 and also gasket 20 have passage recesses situated coaxially to one another as pressure conducting channels through which pressure information is transmissible to sensing device 110. Such a design of pressure sensor 1 is comparatively complex and cost-intensive in manufacturing. Furthermore, pressure sensor 1 forms a comparatively tall structure, so it cannot be installed in locations offering only a small space.